ShutteRelease Films was one of the honorees at the annual North Carolina Society of Historians awards banquet on Saturday, November 11th. The Society awarded “The Regulators 250th Anniversary Edition” a Multimedia Award for its NC-relevant historical content. The award was received by Chris Laforet, the producer/director of the production.

The North Carolina Society of Historians was established in December 1941 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and perpetuating North Carolina’s rich history, and, for recognizing those persons who fulfill the society’s objectives. Information about all the 2017 wards can be found at www.ncsocietyofhistorians.org/2017_Winners.php

ShutteRelease Films is happy to announce that it has been working on a new documentary centered on Burlington NC. Between 1953 and 1956, the Carolina Roadrunners auto club put on drag race events at the old Fairchild Airport in Burlington. The documentary outlines the history of the club, its races, and the airport that hosted the races. Interviews are still going on and we expect to release the documentary in the first half of 2018.

We are looking for anyone who has home movies of drag races from Fairchild. One of our primary sources remembers that some were captured and has seen them. Should anyone know of or have this material, please contact us!

ShutteRelease Films is pleased to announce the release of the Director’s cut of its documentary “The Regulators” in advance of the 250th anniversary of the battle in 2021. With lots of new interviews, and reworked and new footage, it offers an excellent look at the Regulation movement of the 1760s.

“The Regulators” documents a pre-Revolutionary resistance movement that arose in the back-country of the colony of North Carolina between 1765 and 1771. In a time fraught with rampant abuses of taxation and widespread corruption in the courts, the Regulation supporters petitioned that the government merely follow the law. After years of abuse their opposition finally led to a showdown with Governor Tryon and his militia troops at the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771. The Regulation movement may have met an ill-fated end on that day but these sons of liberty were not forgotten. The growing Revolutionary movement learned from the successes and failures at Alamance and applied those lessons as the next chapter of American history was written.

We are pleased to announce that Burlington Magazine published a two-page spread featuring “Healed by Horses” in its Holiday edition. The link to the online magazine is here and the article is on pages 44 and 45.

(BURLINGTON, NC, Oct 27, 2016) – Chris Laforet, of ShutteRelease Films, has won a prestigious Award of Recognition from the IndieFEST Film Awards. The award was given for the documentary short, “Healed by Horses,” which promotes awareness of how Equine Therapies can help people battling mental and physical handicaps, PTSD and other stresses, and behavioral and bullying issues to overcome them.

“All of us at ShutteRelease are pleased to have received this award and we know that all who participated on screen will be equally pleased to know that their success stories are inspiring to others.”

The IndieFEST Film Awards recognizes film, television, videography and new media professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Entries are judged by highly qualified professionals in the film and television industry. Information about the IndieFEST and a list of recent winners can be found at www.theindiefest.com.

In winning an IndieFEST Film Award, ShutteRelease Films joins the ranks of other high-profile winners of this internationally respected award including Liam Neeson as the narrator of Love Thy Nature, A Path Appears Documentary featuring George Clooney and Blake Lively, Radical Grace executive produced by Susan Sarandon, a searing expose Davids and Goliath by Leon Lee, and Touched with Fire starring Katie Holmes. Rick Prickett, who chairs The IndieFEST Film Awards, had this to say about the latest winners, “The IndieFEST is not an easy award to win. Entries are received from around the world from powerhouse companies to remarkable new talent. The IndieFEST helps set the standard for craft and creativity. The judges were pleased with the exceptional high quality of entries. The goal of The IndieFEST Film Awards is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve.”

ShutteRelease Films held its premiere for the short documentary “Healed by Horses” on the evening of October 10, 2016 at Madison Central High School’s auditorium in Richmond, KY. People involved in the documentary came out along with families, friends, and members of the community to the first public presentation of the heartwarming documentary.

Former Chief of Richmond P.D. Larry Brock provided the Welcome to the Premiere.

The first speaker for the evening was Larry Brock, the former Police Chief of the Richmond Police Department. During his welcome comments he stated, “I am so glad the producers, ShutteRelease Films, have taken on this project because I feel it is important.” Chief Brock continued by saying, “We have personally witnessed transformations that have taken place in the young people that have participated in this program (of Equine Therapy).”

Officer Josh Hale, Richmond Police Department

He was followed at the podium by Josh Hale, an Officer with the Richmond Police Department and a long-time SRO within the Madison County Schools system. He also commented that, “The reason we are here is to raise awareness for juveniles and for a program in which I am firm believer that it works.”

Jona Ryan, at podium, Brittany Ryan (center) and Jersey (left)

Jona Ryan, whose Stepping Stone Ranch at Deer Run Stables was the venue for the documentary, was joined on stage by Brittany Ryan and by one of their students, Jersey. Jona said, “This documentary is to bring awareness and to find positive outlets for our children, because our children are our next generation. Horses teach us to be great leaders, to overcome fear, to build confidence and self-esteem. Horses don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Chris and Sherry Laforet from ShutteRelease Films

Finally, Chris Laforet, Producer and Director of “Healed by Horses” and his wife, Sherry, then gave the introduction to the documentary. During Chris’ remarks, he stated that, “What attracted me to create this documentary is the message that I hope will also attract you to remember it and to recommend it to others. That message is that none of us is unredeemable, none of us is so far gone that we cannot be helped. It is amazing to consider that horses are able to pull people out of their shells, able to help them forget their pasts, able to erode their life stresses, and able to erase or blunt the horrible inhumanity that some people have suffered at the hands of others.”

The documentary was then shown and was well received by the attendees. The documentary is freely available to view online and to share from here

The short documentary produced by ShutteRelease Films entitled “Healed by Horses” has been released to the Web. We hope that you will enjoy it and share it. Our hope is to raise awareness that horses may be helpful in dealing with personal problems. There are a number of excellent programs throughout the country, many of which will be sources of targeted information if someone is interested in pursuing an Equine therapeutic program. They also offer great opportunities for service organizations and for individuals to volunteer to help.

The owner of ShutteRelease Films was just featured in an interview on Borgus Network’s “Rolling Tape” series. Chris was one of the first people licensed as a Remote Pilot in Charge by the FAA under its Part 107 regulations and shared information about living in the Dronescape.

There will be a premiere held at the Madison Central H.S. auditorium of a short documentary which was shot locally earlier this year. The documentary, entitled “Healed by Horses,” showcases youth and adults who have been helped to overcome behavioral problems, bullying issues, and PTSD through Equine Therapies. The film was produced by ShutteRelease Films which is based in Burlington, North Carolina. Filming was done at Deer Run Stables which is local to Richmond.

Speakers at the event will include Deb Bennett, Regional Supervisor AOC/Family and Juvenile Services; and Josh Hale, a School Resource Officer with the Richmond Police Department; and Jona Ryan, EAGALA certified equine assisted specialist and owner of the Stepping Stone Ranch program at Deer Run Stables.

The documentary has been submitted to several prestigious film festivals for consideration in their 2017 seasons. The documentary will be released free to the Internet on Vimeo after the premiere.